


The Magician's Assistant

by Hogwartswonderland



Category: Now You See Me (2013)
Genre: Bank Robbery, Behind the Scenes, F/M, Magic-Users, Magician's Assistant, Merritt is a Dad, Over protective Merritt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-27
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-15 12:48:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3447803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hogwartswonderland/pseuds/Hogwartswonderland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You do understand the function of the magician’s assistant, don’t you?” “Yeah. She’s there to distract them as he sets up the trick.” In this case, the magician’s assistant is Marion McKinney; whom was contracted by the Eye alongside her longtime boyfriend, Jack Wilder, and her father, Merritt McKinney. As the pseudo ‘manager’ of the Four Horsemen, Marion is tasked with assisting with the three act magic trick from behind the scenes. Too bad Thaddeus Bradley doesn't know about her, because otherwise he could debunk the enigma that is known as the magician’s assistant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

New York City 

Wednesday 

“Marion, you need to get up.” Marion groaned and rolled over in bed, clutching the warm comforter closer to her semi-sleeping form.

“I’m sleeping, Jack. Go away,” she mumbled into the pillow. Jack let out a booming laugh before he ripped the covers away from his grumpy girlfriend, crawled into bed with her, and began peppering her face and neck with kisses.

“No can do, babe,” he said in-between kisses. “You have work in 20 minutes and it is your first day as manager.”

Marion shot up upon hearing the last sentence, almost hitting Jack in the process. She had been working at the same movie theatre since she was 15 years old, and now at 19, she had finally worked her way up to being a manager. With that in mind, Marion jumped out of bed, leaving Jack to laugh at her sudden burst of action, and quickly began changing into her uniform; which consisted of khaki’s, black flats, and a plain black polo shirt. Once she was fully dressed, Marion grabbed her purse, keys to the building, and dark blue blazer, gave Jack a kiss on the cheek, and started to leave.

“Don’t get into trouble!” she called out from over her shoulder just before walking out the door.

“Trouble is my middle name!” Marion heard Jack retort just as the door closed. She laughed and continued on her way to work, which was only three blocks away. It was a nice day out and it didn’t take long for Marion to arrive.

As she approached the entrance, Marion noticed that there no customers, but the three scheduled employees were lounging around, most likely waiting for her to let them in. Kellie, a lanky girl of 16, was leaning on the brick wall and texting. Next to her, Brett- who was a friend of Jack’s- was talking to Bobby, an elderly man who worked there to earn a little extra cash in order to fix up his classic mustang. Brett was the first to notice her and immediately rallied Kellie and Bobby into a cheer.

“Congratulations, Miss. Manager!” Brett called out. Marion smiled at the crew. The closeness among the employees is one of the main reasons why she stayed with the theatre for so long.

“Thanks guys.” She replied as she unlocked the door to let them in. “Are you all having a good morning?” They all said ‘yes’ in unison and promptly began performing tasks to get ready for the business day. Marion let them get to it, only feeling a slight pang of nostalgia as she had to remind herself that she had different morning duties, and unlocked the door to the office which is where the money and other important information is kept. She placed her belongings on the spinney chair, glanced over the note left by her boss, and then began working. 

The universe had a funny sense of humor because Marion’s first day managing ended up being very busy. They had just received Frozen, the most popular children’s movie at the time, and the lobby was filled with parents and grandparents with their children that were no older than 5. Basically, it was as if Marion had walked into a nightmare. So by 6 p.m., which was the end of her shift, Marion was quick to hand over the reins to Jarod, another manager that was only a few years older than Marion. As soon as Jarod took over, Marion gathered up her belongings and dashed out of the theater, eager to go home to Jack and cuddle up on the couch and watch a move (that preferably was not Frozen).

Thinking about dinner and Jack, Marion reached to the back pocket of her pants to retrieve her phone in order to call Jack to see what he wanted to eat. She grabbed her phone, but realized that there was something else in her pocket as well. Puzzled, Marion reached back and in her hand was what looked like a tarot card, which she had no memory of picking up at all that day- let alone ever in her life. She quickly surveyed her surroundings to look for anyone suspicious but in New York, it was hard to tell. Seeing as there was no possible way to figure out who slipped it to her, Marion decided to examine the card closer. On one side there is a picture of a winged angel holding two chalices. The angel is clothed in a simple white robe and she has one foot on land and the other in water. Underneath the picture say ‘The Temperance’. Marion then flipped the card to the other side, which was not as ornate as its counterpart. The only picture was of a well drawn eye with this written below it:

March 29

4:44 PM

45 East Evan St.

NY.NY

The moment she finished examining the card, Marion’s hands began to tremble. Unfortunately, she was unable to say that she had seen this before. Her father, who she dislikes mentioning for certain reasons, was a passionate lover of the magical arts and Marion remembers sifting through his magical ‘equipment’ and seeing tarot cards before. They didn’t look like this, but she had seen cards with the Temperance on them before. If she remembered correctly, her father told her that it stood for balance, moderation, patience, and purpose. Knowing her father would never do something like this (he isn’t exactly the most subtle), Marion wondered who gave her the tarot card and why did they give her the Temperance?

Suddenly Marion’s phone began to blare I lived by One Republic and on the screen, a picture of Jack holding their kitten, Miracle, popped up. Marion took a quick moment to collect herself before pressing the green accept button.

“Hey, babe!” Jack greeted his girlfriend, his voice filled with excitement.

“Hey, Jack,” Marion answered back calmly. “I was just about to call you. What’s up?”

“The most amazing thing happened today! But I want to tell you at home. I was just wondering what the plan for food was?”

“That is exactly what I was going to ask you. Does Chinese sound good? I pass the shop on my way home.”

“Sounds perfect. So how was your first day managing?” “Hectic,” Marion sighed. “We were overrun with kids because of that Forzen movie. I really can’t wait to get home.”

“I’m sorry it was rough, babe. How about I pick up your favorite mint chocolate chip ice cream while on my way home?”

Marion perked up at the suggestion. “Sounds perfect! Love you and see you at home,” she said before hanging up and walking into the Chinese restaurant. It only took 15 minutes for her to get the food and only 5 more to reach the entrance of her building. She nodded hello to Leroy, the elderly doorman, and proceeded to walk the arduous 5 flight of stairs up to her apartment.

When she walked in, she was greeted with a very passionate kiss by Jack, who had apparently set up a romantic setting on the small dining table.

“You must have really good news if you got me my favorite pink carnations,” she commented as she placed the food on the table and say down.

“Very,” Jack said enthusiastically as he sat down. All was silent for a moment as the couple ate their food. Then Jack reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a card, placed it on the table, and then slid it over to his girlfriend so she could get a closer look. What Marion saw took her by surprise. It was the same tarot card that she received as well. She hesitantly flipped the card over to see what the other side was, and saw that instead of having Temperance on it, his said Death. In that very moment Marion lost her appetite so she pushed her food away and looked at Jack worryingly.

“What’s wrong, babe? This is good news! The Eye apparently wants me!”

Wordlessly, Marion takes out her own tarot card and hands it to him, allowing him to examine it curiously. “What do you think this means? I know you grew up around magic, but you don’t actually practice it.”

Marion shrugged. “I don’t know exactly, but it seems like our best chance of finding out is to go to this place on Friday.”

“I guess so,” Jack agreed. He got up and walked over to his girlfriend’s side, crouched down and took her hand into his. “Everything will be ok, Mare. Whatever this is, it won’t take me away from you.”

“But your card says Death, Jack! In magic, that can mean anything. You heard of Lionel Shrike, right?” Jack nodded his head. “He left behind his family to pursue a deadly trick he was no equipped for. My father ceased contact with me after his fall from fame to continue pursuing magic!”

“Hey,” Jack said soothingly, pulling Marion into his arms. “I would never do that to you. You know that if it ever came down to it, I would give magic up to be with you.”

Marion looked up to him and gives him a bright smile. “I know. And I will never ask you to. Why don’t we forget about this for the time being and do something else? We might as well not dwell on it until we find out on Friday what is really going on.”

Jack gave her a wide grin. “And what exactly do you have in mind?”

“Why don’t you follow me and find out?” Marion called back, giving her boyfriend a coy smile as she walked towards their bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marion and Jack go to discover what the tarot cards mean. They don't expect to come face to face with Marion's estranged father.

**The Magician’s Assistant**

 

45 East Evan Street

4:30 PM, March 29th

 

Hand-in-hand, Jack and Marion stared up at the ominous building. Jack looked at it with excitement and Marion with distress. Neither knew what they were going to find in the apartment and to be honest, Marion wasn’t sure if she wanted to find out. Marion loves her boyfriend, and supports his interest in magic completely, but magic has always seemed to make her life miserable. Just look at her non-existent relationship with her father.

 

She shook her head to push away the thoughts of her father then turns to her boyfriend. “Are you ready for this?”

 

“I am ready when you are, babe.” Jack replied as he squeezed her hand. He obviously knew how much the calling card from the Eye was taking on her.

 

 They have known each other since she was a freshman in high school, and he a junior. Mare’s mother, Avalon, grew up in Brooklyn, and figured the best chance for Mare to get over her Dad choosing magic over his family was to move them to New York. Jack knew from the moment he saw her resisting his best friend (Brett’s) charm that he was going to marry her someday. It took a while for her to say yes to a date (she knew of his interest in magic and that made her hesitant) but they haven’t parted since. And that is saying a lot since it has been 6 years since then.

 

Together the pair entered the building and climbed up the stairs to their final destination. Jack was leading, obviously excited, while Marion lagged behind. As they crept closer, they heard voices and decided to wait to see what exactly was in store for them.

 

“J. Daniel Atlas, nice to meet you. Very nice. I know who you are and I just want to say, uh, that I am not interested in you doing your mentalism thing on us.”

 

Upon hearing the name, Jack turned to his girlfriend with a sparkle in his eyes. Daniel Atlas was Jack’s favorite magician and if he was here, then that meant that he received a card as well. Marion rolled her eyes and sighed, then gestured for her boyfriend to go ahead. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and made his move to go up, but froze when another voice spoke up.

 

“I am sensing that you are a control freak?” This voice was deeper than the first and had a hint of a country twang.

 

Jack turned towards his girlfriend and looked at her with worry. She just brushed him off, mouthing to him that she is ok and that she could handle it. “Go ahead. I will be with you in a minute, ok?”

 

Jack gives her a peck on the cheek and goes up the steps. “No way. J. Daniel Atlas? Dude, I have seen anything you have ever done. I mean, you are like- I idolize you.” Marion heard him say.  She grinned, finding her his excitement from meeting his idol adorable. Just hearing his voice gives her the strength to walk up rather than turning around and running away. She was 19, dammit. No longer was she the same 12 year old girl that would cry in her room at night because her Daddy forgot to come home for her birthday.

 

“Jack really does idolize you. He spent nearly 30 minutes talking about how amazing you are on our first date,” said Marion as she walked to stand beside Jack, a fake smile plastered on her face. Atlas and the redheaded woman by his side, whom Marion remembered to be his former assistant turned solo act, Henley Reeves, looked at her with confusion. She didn’t spare the other gentleman (not that Marion would call him that) a glance.

 

“Hey! You said that would never bring that up,” said Jack with a teasing smile as he slipped his arm around her waist.

 

“A true fan. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Atlas said as he offered his hand out to Jack. “Now, who are you?” he asked, turning to Marion.

 

“Marion?”

 

Marion tensed up when she heard her name. Now Atlas and Henley turned to him, curious how he knew the young woman who was now glaring at him.

 

“Hello, Dad. What a surprise to see you here,” Marion droned, obviously unhappy to see him.

 

“Wait,” called out Atlas. “You,” he pointed to Marion’s father, “are her” he then pointed to Marion, “father and she is obviously dating him?” he finished, pointing at Jack last.

 

“How astute of you Mr. Atlas. Maybe you could take some pointers from the ‘great’ Merritt McKinney over there and you can become a mentalist yourself,” Marion said sarcastically. Atlas said nothing and glared at her in response.

 

“What are you doing here, Marion?”  Merritt asked his daughter, obviously confused. “Did your boyfriend get a card or something?”

 

“Yeah,” said Jack, butting into the conversation as he held his Death card up. “So did Mare.” Marion showcased her Temperance card to show that it wasn’t a lie. Merritt’s eyes glance from it to her then back again with worry.

 

He last he remembered, she said she hated magic. Yet here she was, all grown up and with a boyfriend who obviously loved magic. It made him wonder that if her mind could be changed about magic, then could it be changed about him.

 

“The high priestess,” Henley shared with the group, holding up her card as well.

 

“The lover,” Atlas included obviously not one to be shown up. Of course, Henley ruined his moment for him by ‘discreetly’ coughing “3 minutes.”

 

“The hermit.” Marion almost snorted when she heard this. She knew that the hermit meant that a person was engaged in a period of soul searching and was looking to go in a different direction in their life. This was pretty laughable since her father’s direction in life was to become rich. Marion didn’t see that changing anytime soon.

 

“So are we waiting for someone?” Jack questioned. “Why-why are we waiting?”

 

“The doors locked,” Henley, Atlas, and Merritt all responded in unison.

 

At that response, Marion glanced over at Jack and smirked. As much as he loved magic, he wasn’t exactly the best, at least not yet. What he was already talented in was what some considered being criminal and nefarious activities. This is not to say that Marion approved of her boyfriend stealing (on occasions) as a pickpocket, or breaking and entering (ok, she has done that with him. But it was when they were teenagers and wanted a place to make out without getting caught).

“Oh, no. Nothing is ever locked,” Jack declared as he removed himself from Marion in order to walk to the door. He crouched so that he was eye level with the doorknob and working his magic to unlock the door. It didn’t take long before the door opened to show the group of 5 a dark and (extremely) dingy apartment.

 

Henley and Atlas led the group through the apartment, Atlas using his mini-flashlight to light the way. Merritt tried to work it so that he would bring up the rear with his daughter, but Jack claimed that spot. That left him stuck in the middle, listening as Marion mentioned to Jack how their apartment was so much better.

 

“Wow,” Merritt remarked under his breath as he peered into the dirty bathroom. “And I thought my apartment was bad.” Apparently he wasn’t quite enough because Marion scoffed. “I am surprised you stay in one place long enough to even have an apartment. After all, you preferred traveling the country rather than being with your family.”

 

“Someone is a little resentful,” Atlas commented condescendingly. Henley elbowed him and whispered for him to be quiet.

 

“It’s cold in here,” Jack commented quietly, trying not to say anything to Merritt. He knows that Marion could handle herself, but he has had a few words he has wanted to say to the older gentleman for years now.

 

“Your right, Jack. It’s freezing in here,” Marion agreed with her boyfriend.

 

“What’s that?” Henley asked as they group walked into the open living room where a note and a white rose lay on the floor beside an odd pattern.

 

“I don’t know.” Atlas bent down and picked up the card.

 

“What’s it say?”

 

“Now you don’t.”

 

 Henley then picked up the rose and plopped it into a vase placed on a risen platform. “A rose by any other name,” she quoted from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

“Would smell as sweet,” Marion completed. The moment the rose was placed in the vase, water began to flow towards the odd pattern imbedded into the hardwood floor.

 

“Guys, what’s happening?” Jack asked the others as he held Marion by the waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. No one answered back. By that point, the water had filled the image and it sunk into the floor, releasing smoke.

 

“Is that gas?” Marion asked her boyfriend bewilderedly.

 

“No. It’s dry ice,” Merritt replied as the dry ice began to encompass the entire room.

 

“What do you think this is all about?” Atlas questioned, grinning from ear to ear as he looked at Henley who was entranced by it all.

 

“Wait,” Merritt called out as he held his hand to his head and closed his eyes. Marion rolled her eyes as the rest of the group looked to him with expectation. There was no way her father could figure out what exactly was happening by using mentalism.

 

“I got nothing.” Marion rolled her eyes at him. _Thanks for stating what I already knew_ , she thought.

 

“Thank you, thank you for the delay.” Said Atlas in his condescending (when wasn’t he condescending?) tone.

 

“I was just trying to create a space for wisdom,” Merritt retorted.

 

“So you were like Buddha, if he wasn’t so enlightened.”

 

“Oh, and you’re like Jesus if he was arrogant and all his miracles were fake?”

 

“Now I see where you get your sarcasm from,” Jack comments casually to Marion, who glares at him in return.  “Do you want to sleep on the couch?”

 

“Danny, be honest,” Henley said as she walked around, scoping the entire room. “Did you do this?”

“No,” he said, most likely wishing he had. He then turned to Marion. “Did you?”

 

At this Marion scoffed. “I don’t practice magic. So that is a big no.”

 

“Well maybe then your boyfriend did it,” he retorted as he turned to Jack.

 

“No, but I wish.”

 

“Why didn’t anyone ask me if I did it?”

 

The young adults in the room looked at one another as he made this comment and nearly started laughing. Well, Marion actually did but she easily masked it as a cough. To avoid answering the question, they all split up to continue exploring. Marion ghosted her hands over the walls to see if there were any hidden panels while J. Daniel began messing with the light switch just as Jack commented that the electricity was out.

 

“Why don’t we check?” The older McKinney in the room then proceeded to reach up to the chandelier and screw the light bulbs in all the way. As soon as he did that, three projectors which were placed in different places in the apartment sprung to life.

 

The five convened to the middle of the room where the projectors came together to showcase what looked to be a 3-D set of blueprints, according to Henley. One image that stood out to Marion was the same picture of the eye that was on the tarot cards they all received.

 

“They are incredible.”

 

“Who do you think did this?” Jack asked the rest of the group, turning towards his girlfriend who was looking at it all in wonder. It took a couple of years, but she has come to appreciate magic again.

 

“I don’t know, but I really want to meet them,” remarked Henley.

 

“I think,” Marion butted in, entranced by it all, “It’s a show.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

Las Vegas, MGM Grand Garden Arena 

One Year Later

      “I have a delivery for Marion McKinney!” an UPS delivery man shouted out from his place backstage, tightly gripping a medium sized brown box.

      A young woman with dirty blonde hair and a serious face stepped out from a dressing room that read J. Wilder and walked up to the delivery man. “Hi,” she said breathlessly as she swept her hair up into a high ponytail.

     “Busy night?” he asked politely as he handed her the clipboard to sign.

     “Yes,” Marion sighed. “I doesn’t help that my boss,” she said the last word with disgust, “is an absolute control freak.”

     “I feel you sister,” the middle aged man laughed, handing the young woman the package. “Good luck.” He exited, leaving Marion by herself away from the crowd as she opened the package with the pen she used to sign her signature. She had the box almost completely opened when she heard her walky-talky beep. Marion groaned in annoyance before removing it from her belt loop and pressing talk.

      “What do you want, Atlas?” “Why do you assume it’s me?” a medium pitched male voice asked.

     “Because,” the blonde said, “you are the only one who calls me every five minutes.”

      “She has a point,” a distinctly female voice chimed in from over the frequency. Marion laughed at the rebuttal as she took out an odd looking head piece from out of the box.

     “Thanks Henley. By the way Danny, you should really learn to trust me more.”

     “Give me a good reason,” Danny challenged. “It’s simple,” Marion replied. “I have the teleportation helmet.”

     “Well look at that,” another male voice added. “Danny was wrong. Good going baby girl. Looks like you may have inherited my gift of mentalism after all!”

     “Thanks dad,” Marion laughed as she pushed her way through a sea of techies and assistants. “But I am definitely not a mentalist. I simply was smart enough to get quick shipping and handling.”

 

     “Haha. How astute of you Marion,” Atlas said, this time in person seeing as Marion had arrived to the main backstage area where the entire group was waiting. Marion just childishly stuck her tongue out at the curly haired man before turning to the last member of the group.

     “Here you go babe. One teleportation helmet at your disposal.” A young man of about 22 smiled, showcasing his perfect pearly whites.

     “Thank you my lady,” he greeted his girlfriend cheekily, his Brooklyn accent shining through. He then proceeded to give Marion with a small peck on the lips.

     “Jack, I am going to enforce the foot long rule if I see you kissing my daughter again.” Marion shook her head and turned towards her dad, a tall balding man (not that anyone could tell, for he was wearing a black fedora) with bright blue eyes.

     “Merritt, let your daughter and Jack be. It was really sweet,” a red headed woman dressed head to toe in black admonished the older man.

     “I hate to interrupt this little pow-wow,” Atlas said in his usual condescending manner, “But we have a show to perform.”

     Unfortunately, he was right. And as their manager, it was Marion’s job to make sure they got on stage and had a successful show.“Alight everybody,” Marion called out to the small crowd that had gathered backstage, most likely awaiting instructions. “Places! We have a show to perform!” Every scattered to their places and the small group of five could hear the muttering of the crowd decrease as the lights on the stage dimmed.

     “Merritt McKinney,” a bodiless voice called out through the stadium. “Daniel Atlas. Henley Reeves. Jack Wilder. Arthur Tressler and MGM present, The Four Horsemen.”

     Marion and the Four Horsemen smiled at each other. It was show time.

Las Vegas, Backstage of MGM Grand Garden Arena 

2 Hours and 13 Minutes Later

     From her spot near the service tunnel where all the techies and other behind the scenes people were congregated, Marion could easily hear the roar of the applause coming from the crowd after the Four Horsemen announced that they were going to rob a bank. For once Atlas was right (god- those words tasted bitter in her mouth) about how unusual it is for people to grow excited at the mention of partaking in a VERY illegal activity.

     Sure, a good majority of the people there tonight are filler and being paid by Arthur Tressler to clap and play along, but seriously, just how desperate were people nowadays? She shakes her head and sighs at the thought before turning around in the service tunnel. Right now she had to make sure everything for this trick worked out perfectly. There was too much riding on this- on her.

     “Hey Holden?” Marion called over the walky-talky to the man in charge of keeping track of the equipment. A few seconds later a gruff voice answered back a hostile “What?”

     “Jeez, there is no need to snap. I just wanted to let you know it is time to prep the teleportation machine to be sent up.”

     There is a few seconds of silence before Holden replied back. “We might have a problem with that.”

     She stopped mid-step and tensed up. This seriously could not happening. Everything was going so smoothly- the teleportation helmet even came on time!- and now Atlas was going flip a switch about something in the finale going wrong. She took a deep breath, exhaled, then begins speed walking to the center of the basement where her problem awaits. When she gets there Holden and one other man are arguing and Holden is angrily pointing at the platform that is supposed to raise the device to the center of the stage.

     “What is going on here gentlemen?” The two both turned to look at her. Holden sarcastically gestured for the other man to speak up. Normally Marion would be polite and ask for his name but there was no time for pleasantries.

     “I am not going to go into technical speak but basically the platform is jammed.”

     “Sounds simple enough. Hopefully it is an equally simple fix?”

     Both men hesitate. Holden finally speaks up. “Technically speaking- no.” Marion furrowed her eyebrows at that. This was not going well. “But,” he said, most likely to salvage his job. He had assured her yesterday when they checked the equipment that everything is in working order. “Joseph here,” he waved his hand in the direction of the previously unknown man, “has rigged a pulley system which allows the two of us to raise the platform manually.”

     Marion glanced over to Joseph who was standing by with a thick rope in his hand, grinning widely. He looked mighty proud of himself. “Are you 100% sure that this will work?”

     He nodded then replied that they just need more people. Marion then called out to every able bodied person in the vicinity to come help so that the machine would appear just in time. Luckily there was enough people nearby and within minutes the group managed to pull up the platform to the stage just in time.

     “Great job, everybody! You guys just saved the show!” Marion thanked the workers, smiling sweetly as she proceeded to walk away. A crisis may have been adverted but the show was done yet. There was still one Etienne Forcier to bring back from ‘Paris’.

Las Vegas, Aria Hotel 

9:00 am, the next day

     Marion was at the stadium until 12 pm last night, overseeing the cleanup crew to make sure everything was stored properly according to Daniel’s instructions, and was dead tired. Unfortunately for her, she had no time for sleeping in. She and the Horsemen was due to leave in less than an hour and she had yet to finish packing or get ready. The boys were lounging downstairs while Marion flitted around the room that she and Jack shared (against her father’s wishes) placing her clothes in her suitcase- only leaving out a pair of black leggings, a dark red tunic, and her brown boots, and blazer out- all while on the phone with the next venue trying to explain to them that there is no need for them to touch the equipment once it arrives. It is a good thing that Marion was good a multitasking.

     “Hey, Marion. Are your bags all packed?” Henley asked as she peeked her head through the doorway.

     “Yeah. Can you just grab Jack for me so he can help me carry it down? I think I may have over packed,” Marion admitted sheepishly.

     Henley laughed at the younger girl’s admittance but pauses when she hears commotion downstairs.

     “FBI!” A male voice shouted. “Put your hands where I can see them!”

     “I hear that our soon to be good friends have arrived,” Marion commented with a drily.

     She really wasn’t in the mood to deal with cocky federal agents “And just in time too,” the red head replied, grinning. Marion looks at her with confusion.

     “Now Jack doesn’t need to help us with our bags.” Henley then proceeded to grab Marion’s suitcase and wheel it out. Marion followed her with a grin on her face. Henley sure did know how to make an entrance.

     Together the two women left their bags at the top of the steps then proceeded to go down to greet their guests.

     “Freeze! Put your hands in the air!” one of the goons yelled.

     Henley feigned surprise (that girl should have been and actress) and did as they said. “Oh! Do you mind giving us a hand with our bags?” she asked them politely.

     Marion, on the other hand, ignored the order and continue down the steps to where Jack was lazily lounging on a chair with his feet on the table and his hands in the air. Marion gave him a brief kiss on the cheek then grabbed one of the chocolate chip muffins that lay on the table.

     “Miss, I said to freeze and put your hands where I can see them.”

     Marion turned towards the balding agent who spoke, looking him dead in the eyes before taking a large bite out of the muffin and placing her hands in the air. She doesn’t care what they want. She was going to eat her damn muffin and they were going to let her.

     “Put down the muffin.” She took another bite.

     “I was up late last night handling the cleanup of the show and literally just finished getting ready. That means I haven’t eaten yet. And if you want me to be nice and cooperate, then you will let me finish my muffin. I assure you that I can be very unpleasant if I don’t eat breakfast in the morning. Just ask my boyfriend and dad.”

     The man’s hold on his gun wavered and he looked around the room at Jack and Merritt. Now Marion knew that the FBI knows exactly who she is, which means they have been doing their homework.

     “It’s true,” Jack agreed.

     “She has been like that since she was a little girl,” Merritt added, continuing to back up Marion’s statement.

     This causes the agent to sigh in defeat. “Fine. Eat the muffin. But once you’re done all five of you are being handcuffed.” Hearing that, Marion slowly ate her muffin just to tick the guy- Agent Fuller he told them- off even more. He disrupted her morning so she was going to make his unbearable. She is her father’s daughter after all. But eventually she finished and once she did, Agent Fuller himself handcuffed her while the other agents took her friends and family.

     The agents then proceeded to lead them through the hotel, mainly through the casino- which was a stupid thing to do if you ask Marion- which was where a large number of people were congregated to catch a glimpse at the infamous four magicians. Marion received a few odd looks but the people were mainly focused on cheering for the Horsemen as they were led to the standard FBI vehicles. So far everything was going according to plan.


End file.
